First time

Possessiveness, jealousy and aggression was ever-present in Seth. Although mostly dormant around pack members. At least since Alex named him alpha. 

Before that, he treated everyone as competition. He often lashed out at other subs. His behaviour was so hectic, he never got a chance to play a dominant role. Alex knew he wouldn't be able to control himself.

Time-out was a temporary suspension of his contract. This meant zero contact with the pack and Alex. He could stay at The Crib. He could go and fuck around all he wanted. He could skip work and isolate himself in his room if he wanted.

However, his access to places inside the house was very limited. Only the room he used remained available for him. That big and luxurious place shrinked to a single room in an instant.

This was his first time-out as an alpha. Getting to the top of the pack brought some stability to his mind. The threat of someone taking away his role didn't even occur to him. Until now.

Alex promised him the chance to punish Larry. She kept her word, and didn't stop him. He simply failed. Miserably. 

Seth's upset mood lasted for days. 

As a diagnosed psychopath, he didn't have much empathy for others. Especially Larry. Seth wasn't moved by his tragic story, not one bit. He didn't hear the worst parts, but even if he did, his malice would be just the same.

To find an outlet for the anger and hate velling up in Seth, he went to a 24/7 gym on the night of the welcome party. After going nuts on the sandbag for hours, he calmed down considerably.

Under the shower, he took his time to think things over. 

He never knew how long the time-out would last. A few days? Not a problem. A week? Manageable, if he kept his work schedule as normal. 

A month? That would be difficult with his good boy act. Alex never made him wait that long. The longest was 22 days. He managed to keep his shit together for three weeks without her.

Now though, things were different. For the first time, he attacked a guest, not a sub or packmate. If Larry decides to report him to the police…If he gets arrested… He didn't want to think about it. 

Ever since Seth was a kid, he was extremely reactive, and the only solution he knew was violence. By the time he reached middle school, local gangs tried to recruit him. Eventually, they gave up on him. He seemed uncontrollable.

When he became a highschool freshman, his PE teacher suggested martial arts. Seth went to a few clubs, and settled on jiu jitsu and taekwondo. His thirst for violence was not sated with a couple of lessons a week though.

He found good entertainment in illegal fighting pits. He made good money for his age. Not to mention, he loved the recognition and the respect his reputation demanded. 

He was simply at the wrong place and the wrong time, when his home ring got busted by the police.

That one and only juvie time he did brought a turning point. No matter how much he punched, kicked, bit and bashed others, he was immeasurably frustrated behind bars.

During that juvenile sentence, he got his official diagnosis as a psychopath. He got meds and got transported to the psych ward. That was even worse. 

Seth was intelligent. He knew he had to control himself, if he wanted to get out. He just didn't know how. He didn't have the necessary skills.

One time, a celebrity visited the ward. He walked around the place, sat down to talk with kids. Photos were taken, donations were made. The celeb seemed to truly care about them.

That is, until the point they left the building. Seth overheard the singer's true feelings about the 'retarded rats' inside. 

The visit gave him an idea, a hope to get rid of that awful place. 

Seth learned to pretend. Slowly, he learned how to distance his behaviour from his feelings. He imitated those who did well in the ward.

Learned the correct answers, the facial expressions, the social clues, all the unwritten rules of role-playing. Soon, he was playing the system like a fiddle.

While he was working on getting out of the psych ward, his parents disappeared. He was close to being an adult, so they just left him the house and some cash. They also arranged the property related papers in his name. 

Seth became a homeowner and a jobless adult with no parents or friends on the same day. He wasn't the emotional, nor the lazy type, so he made plans.

First, he continued his martial art lessons. He also got a job at a gym as an assistant trainer. He cleaned, mainly - and kept his eyes open. 

In a few months, Seth had the basics down about nutritions and training regimens. How to get customers - and how to keep them.

Soon, he returned to the fighting pits too. This time, he bought insurance. A dirty cop made sure his turf would be left alone. It cost him dearly, but it was worth it.

Due to his new skills, Seth wasn't just respected in the cage anymore. He got popular. Sponsors lined up to have him for themselves. The same sponsors paid him a hefty sum to train new fighters.

A year later, he opened his own gym. He didn't need to build a new clientele. The people who were trained by him followed him - both fitness crazies, and cage fighters.

Took him two more years to get certified as a taekwondo instructor. The jiu jitsu certification came half a year later. 

Seth's business was booming - his schedule was so packed, he barely found time to get some blood on his fists.

He was 25, when he saw Alex for the first time. She wore an extravagant pencil skirt costume made of white latex, and red driving gloves. A man stood behind her in a black latex mask and a pair of leather pants. 

The masked man had a collar on his neck, a red gag ball in his mouth, and Alex held his leash. They sat in the first row, and Seth had a difficult time concentrating on the fight. That was a first for him.

Alex's presence was magnetic. More people were watching her than the men in the cage. Not long after Seth won the fight, she stood up to leave. 

One of the bigger sponsors stood in her way. Seth didn't hear their conversation, but he had an idea or two. The sponsor often had impressive women on his side - from the look on his face, he probably tried to invite Alex somewhere.

Suddenly, the man on the leash stepped forward - he wanted to, at least. Alex yanked on his collar, sending him on his knees with a single swing of his arm.

With his other arm, she landed a beautiful right hook squarely on the sponsor's jaw.

Seth recognised the sound of breaking bone, and saw the sponsor's disfigured face, as he fell on his side. Alex took off the red gloves, and threw them on the ground.

Even amidst the commotion, Seth heard as metal knuckles clinked on the floor. 

As she turned around to pull up the masked man to his feet, Seth noticed the blood on her face, white costume jacket, and cleavage. 

He'd never seen anything remotely as stunning as that woman.

However, while Seth was standing there, the goons of the sponsor were getting over their shock. Sooner rather than later, they would take Alex into their care.

Before things could escalate further, Seth jumped over the cage, and hurried to her side. He expected to find her nervous, or in a hurry to get out of there. Instead, she stood up, looked at Seth, and handed him a name card.

"That was a nice fight, I enjoyed it. You like blood, right? Give me a call, if you have a taste for it outside the cage." She said, then linked her arm to Seth's left elbow, and all three of them walked out without a scratch.

Seth's stunned state lasted for days. 

He didn't understand why he couldn't concentrate on the fight. How could that woman leave the bodyguards? Three big, seasoned fighters just stood in stupor as she walked past them. 

How could she tell that he liked blood outside the cage? He never told anybody about his fantasies, or the whores he paid to bleed for him. There weren't even rumours about him. 

His act should have been perfect. How could she see through it?

Seth wrote it off as a fluke. A freak coincidence, nothing more. 

However, the woman showed up to every single fight he took part in. She always wore white, and had some perverted male companion with her. 

Then one night, the woman came alone. She wore red - a blood red cocktail dress -, and was playing with a karambit between her long, elegant fingers during the whole match. 

When Seth was announced as winner, she looked directly at him, and licked the blade. She cut her tongue ever so slightly, and let her blood drip on the blade.

She then offered that red drop on the knife to Seth, and waited for him to come and lick it off.

< She knows. No doubt, she knows. She understands. > He thought, and obeyed the silent order, for the first time.